Did the U.S. Department of Justice order a raid on former President Barack Obama's compound after an audit detected a massive fraud? No, that's not true: The story is a work of satire, and the author of the post is trolling conservatives into believing and sharing these made-up stories as though they were real.
The false claim originated from an article published by We Are Allod on February 14, 2020, titled "DOJ Orders Raid On Obama Compound After Massive Fraud Found In Audit" (archived here). It opened:
Valentine's Day at the Obama compound in Chicago started off with a bang. A bang at the door and then dozens of federal agents making their way through the Chicago home.
Newly released documents reveal that DOJ head William Barr ordered the raid after the former First Family filed their 2019 taxes. The Obamas are suspected of massive tax fraud and other tax irregularities stemming from their "charitable organizations".
The state of Illinois has also frozen the Obama Foundation after a year long investigation, finding charity monies spent on golf trips, political campaigns and a Los Angeles clinic called " Transitions".
Users on social media only saw this title, description and thumbnail:
DOJ Orders Raid On Obama Compound After Massive Fraud Found In Audit
Let's hope they found something!
The story claimed that federal agents had raided Obama's Chicago home due to tax irregularities. While the Obamas kept their Hyde Park home on Chicago's South Side after leaving the White House, their principal residence is in Washington D.C.
Regardless, the story is a work of satire. The site banner features a big "S" with the words "Satire Rated."
The site also has another satire disclaimer on the "About Us" page:
sat·ire ~ˈsaˌtī(ə)r
noun
the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, OR ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site's pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical. See above if you're still having an issue with that satire thing.
The owner and primary writer of the site is Christopher Blair, a man from Maine who has made it his full time job to troll gullible conservatives and Trump supporters into liking and sharing his articles. He runs several other websites, including wearethellod.com, bustatroll.org, or bebest.website. Sometimes he is also known under his nickname "Busta Troll."
Articles from Blair's sites frequently get copied by "real" fake news sites that often omit the satire disclaimer and any other hints that the stories are fake. Blair has tried to get these sites shut down, but new ones keep cropping up.
Blair and his operation were profiled by the Washington Post on November 17, 2018, by Eli Saslow:
'Nothing on this page is real': How lies become truth in online America
November 17 The only light in the house came from the glow of three computer monitors, and Christopher Blair, 46, sat down at a keyboard and started to type. His wife had left for work and his children were on their way to school, but waiting online was his other community, an unreality where nothing was exactly as it seemed.
If you are interested in learning more about Blair and the history of his sites, here is something to get you started:
The Ultimate Christopher Blair and America's Last Line of Defense Reading List | Lead Stories
STORY UPDATED: check for updates below. Yesterday Eli Saslow at the Washington Post wrote a fantastic article about Christopher Blair, a man from Maine who has been trolling conservatives and Trump supporters online for years and occasionally even made a living out of it.
If you see one of his stories on a site that does not contain a satire disclaimer, assume it is fake news. If you do see the satire disclaimer, it is, of course, also fake news.
NewsGuard, a company that uses trained journalists to rank the reliability of websites, describes wearethellod.com as:
A site that publishes false stories and hoaxes that are often mistaken for real news, part of a network named America's Last Line of Defense run by hoax perpetrator Christopher Blair.
According to NewsGuard, the site does not maintain basic standards of accuracy and accountability. Read their full assessment here.
We wrote about wearethellod.com before. Here are our most recent articles that mention the site:
- Fake News: Trump Did NOT Invoke Article 9 To Begin Prosecution Of Democrats For Treason
- Fake News: Kaepernick Did NOT Lobby To Remove National Anthem From Football
- Fake News: Clarence Thomas Did NOT Say SCOTUS Is Ready To 'Crush The Coup Against President Trump'
- Fake News: Barr Did NOT File Charges, Did NOT Indict Obama
- Fake News: Socialist California Does NOT Refuse To Fly US Flag 'Until Trump Is Gone'
